Political lessons to be learned by conservative and libertarian rich people

If you’re an American conservative or libertarian with an above-average brain it’s plain to see that the media is against us. It should also be obvious that the government run the education system from grammar schools on up is mostly run by people who share Obama’s desire to fundamentally transform America. And who among us isn’t constantly disgusted by what passes for entertainment from Hollywood and the television studios?

This week I’m writing about how — despite the fact that conservative and libertarian financially successful people probably have above-average brains — the evidence proves that they’re politically slow to learn.

Let’s do a quick review of history since the 1980s — a time span long enough for anyone to learn what’s wrong.

Ronald Reagan gets elected and supposedly starts a Republican revolution. Unfortunately that revolution ends when his successor, GHW Bush, walks away from conservatism and Ross Perot splits the vote twice to help Bill Clinton get elected in 1992 and 1996.

Oh, but then Newt Gingrich takes the U.S. House. Many on the right think the battle is over. We’ve won! Unfortunately Denny Hastert is chosen to replace Newt in late ’98 and GW Bush defeats two very odd Democratic candidates for president by just one state both in 2000 and 2004. That fact that we’re losing ground doesn’t seem to register with conservative and libertarian big donors.

During this time the rich guys and gals on the left wrote a growing number of checks to fund innovation and increasingly effective outreach. Their efforts culminated in Speaker Pelosi in ’06 and Obama’s ’08 and ’12 victories. The rich guys and gals on the right merely did what they’d always done — albeit no doubt expecting a different result.

Oh, but the GOP retook the U.S. House in ’10 — we’ve won again, right?! Clearly the answer is no. Has spending decreased? Has Obamacare been stopped?

As I’ve written often — the rise of the tea party and patriot type groups is a wonderful development. Our side is said to be gearing up to make ’14 as successful as ’10 was. “Gearing up” is actually a generous way to say it. I’m arguing that the political right is failing to connect with the uninformed in the numbers necessary.

One big state-level example that’s instructive for conservatives is how the political left turned Colorado from red to blue. It’s been chronicled a great deal since 2008 — yet for some reason the rich people on our side prefer to write checks to Karl Rove and a lot of other individuals and groups that have proven that they aren’t doing what’s necessary to reach beyond the choir.

If conservative or libertarian wealthy folks are reading this today let me suggest that you take a little time and read the following and watch the videos embedded below. While you read and watch keep in mind the key to it all: the effective shaping of public sentiment.

It should also be noted that this year the National Rifle Association effectively recalled two Colorado state senators. Of course that’s a wonderful development. The problem is the NRA doesn’t run the GOP and few people on our side seem to learn from the NRA’s dramatic successes since the 1990s.

Oh, and one more thing: you might have read that Democrats aren’t sitting back and enjoying their success. They’re targeting Texas — which would seem hopeless for them except for the fact demographic changes are afoot — many more low information voters are relocating there (many from south of the border).

Democrats are also targeting Missouri — this was posted at TheMissouriTorch.com last month:

Unless The Right Acts Now, Missouri Will Turn Blue By 2016 – Here’s How And Why It Will Happen

President George W. Bush won Colorado by 9 percentage points in 2000.

Two years later, the Republican candidate for Colorado governor, Bill Owens, crushed his opponent 63 to 34.

Two years after that:

Despite a large Republican advantage in registered voters and the popularity of President Bush, who carried the state easily for the second time, Colorado Democrats picked up a U.S. Senate seat and House seat that had been considered safe for the GOP. They reversed Republican majorities in the state House and Senate to take control of the legislature.

And two years after that:

Democrat Bill Ritter trounced Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez on Tuesday in the race to become the 41st Colorado governor – completing a stunning year-long transformation from the party’s unwanted candidate to its leading figure.

In six years, Colorado Republicans lost the state House and Senate, a U.S. Senate seat and the Governor’s mansion.

You may be thinking, “Well, it’s only a matter of time before this comes to Missouri.”

Videos

Quotes

“If by the liberty of the press were understood merely the liberty of discussing the propriety of public measures and political opinions, let us have as much of it as you please: But if it means the liberty of affronting, calumniating and defaming one another, I, for my part, own myself willing to part with my share of it.” —Benjamin Franklin (1789)